North Dakota’s Teacher Salary Comparison To The Rest Of The Country

I know the kids of summer will not appreciate hearing this, the school year is weeks away from starting. I know, it seems like the summer break just started, and with that said, you can already see the signs of back to school.

And with the school year just around the corner, we thought now would be a good time to see how North Dakota's educators annual salary compares to the rest of the nation.

In other countries, the importance of your occupation is a direct reflection on your annual salary. In those countries, the highest paid occupations are teachers, police, firemen and medical.

Some would argue teachers are not paid enough. These men and women sculpt and mold the future of our country. Today's pupil are tomorrow's leaders. The future of our communities and country are sitting in the desks of these classrooms. And a teacher's occupation are becoming more dangerous everyday.

We turn to 24/7 Wall St. for the numbers on teacher's salaries in every state and to determine which state is paying the most and the least to teachers. Keep in mind there are many factors which play a roll in a teacher's annual salary including tenure and education level. 24/7 Wall St. used data from the U.S. Labor Department to determine the average annual salary for elementary, middle, and high school teachers from across the country.

The average salary for teachers in the country is $57,949. Compare that salary to $60,000 which is the median annual salary for all workers with a bachelor’s degree. Keep in mind some educators have a master's degree.

The best paying states for teachers in the country are: (average annual income)

New York-$78,576

Connecticut- $78,330

California- $77,429

Alaska- $77,307

Massachusetts- $74,468

The worst states for teacher's salary are at #49, South Dakota, $41,271 and Oklahoma, $39,306.

North Dakota ranks in the lower half of the country at #35 with median annual salary of $50,209.